Method and apparatus for automatically selecting an access point

Abstract

Apparatus, methods, and other embodiments associated with automatically selecting an access point are described. According to one embodiment, an apparatus includes an inquiry logic in a first device. The inquiry logic is configured to automatically determine attributes of a network connection between a network access point and a second device connected to the network access point. The inquiry logic is further configured to determine the attributes of the network connection in response to the first device being connected to the second device. The apparatus also includes a communication logic that is configured to self-configure and automatically establish a wireless connection to the network access point from the first device using the attributes.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer executable instructions that when executed by a processor cause the processor to perform a method, the method comprising:
 determining, in a first device, attributes of a network connection between a second device and an access point, wherein determining the attributes includes the first device requesting a network address from the second device over a direct connection to the second device, wherein determining the attributes includes:
 requesting, by the first device, that the second device broadcast packets on the network connection; 
 sniffing for network packets transmitted from the second device using a wireless network interface in the first device; and 
 obtaining the attributes from the sniffed network packets that have the network address of the second device, and 
 
 wherein the network address has been assigned to the second device; and 
 establishing a wireless connection to the access point from the first device based, at least in part, on the attributes of the network connection between the second device and the access point, wherein the second device is not a peripheral device. 
 
     
     
       2. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein determining the attributes includes using the wireless network interface in the first device to sniff for network packets transmitted from the second device to obtain the attributes from the sniffed packets. 
     
     
       3. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 2 , wherein the first device uses a Media Access Control (MAC) address assigned to the second device to determine if a packet sniffed from the wireless network interface is from the second device. 
     
     
       4. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 3 ,
 wherein determining if a packet is from the second device includes determining whether a source address in a MAC header of the packet matches the MAC address assigned to the second device, 
 wherein determining the attributes includes retrieving the attributes from the MAC header of the packet, and 
 wherein the attributes include at least a Broadcast Service Set Identifier (BSSID) for the access point that is retrieved from the MAC header. 
 
     
     
       5. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein establishing the wireless connection includes establishing a secure wireless connection by:
 determining, in the first device, a security code for securely connecting to the access point by sending a request to initiate secure communication to the access point and receiving a reply from the access point in response to the request; and 
 establishing the secure wireless connection to the access point by automatically initiating a Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) using the security code. 
 
     
     
       6. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 requesting, by the first device, that the second device broadcast packets on the network connection; 
 monitoring for the packets transmitted by the second device on the wireless interface in the first device; 
 determining whether the network connection between the second device and the access point is a wired connection upon failing to detect a packet transmitted by the second device during a predetermined period of time after the second device has been broadcasting the packets; and 
 in response to determining the network connection is a wired connection, initiating a provisional connection to the access point without establishing the provisional connection to induce the access point to wirelessly relay the packets broadcasted by the second device. 
 
     
     
       7. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 sending a request from the first device to the second device for the second device to retrieve attributes of the access point, 
 wherein the request is sent over the direct connection to the second device, and 
 wherein the request causes the second device to obtain the attributes of the access point from the access point; and 
 receiving the attributes of the access point from the second device. 
 
     
     
       8. An apparatus, comprising:
 an inquiry logic including at least an integrated circuit, in a first device, and configured to automatically determine attributes of a network connection between a network access point and a second device connected to the network access point in response to the first device being connected to the second device, wherein the inquiry logic is configured to request a network address assigned to the second device over a direct connection between the first device and the second device, 
 wherein the inquiry logic is configured to cause the second device to broadcast packets on the network connection by sending a request to the second device over a direct connection, and 
 wherein the inquiry logic is further configured to sniff packets from a wireless interface in the first device and to identify broadcast packets from the second device using the network address assigned to the second device; and 
 a communication logic to self-configure and automatically establish a wireless connection to the network access point from the first device using the attributes of the network connection between the network access point and the second device, wherein the second device is not a peripheral device. 
 
     
     
       9. The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the inquiry logic is further configured to automatically determine the attributes by sniffing packets from the wireless network interface in the first device. 
     
     
       10. The apparatus of  claim 9 ,
 wherein the inquiry logic is configured to sniff the packets by passively capturing all packets received on the wireless network interface, 
 wherein the inquiry logic is configured to retrieve the attributes from a header of a packet that includes a source address assigned to the second device, and 
 wherein the attributes include an identifier for the network access point. 
 
     
     
       11. The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the direct connection is a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection to the second device. 
     
     
       12. The apparatus of  claim 8 , the apparatus further comprises:
 a security logic configured to establish a secure connection to the network access point in response to determining the network access point encrypts wireless network communications, 
 wherein the security logic is configured to establish the secure connection by using a security code to automatically initiate a Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS), 
 wherein the security logic is configured to obtain the security code by sending a request to initiate secure communication to the network access point that includes a first secret and receiving a reply from the network access point in response to the request that includes a second secret. 
 
     
     
       13. A method, the method comprising:
 determining, in a first device, attributes of a network connection between a second device and an access point, wherein determining the attributes includes the first device requesting a network address from a second device over a direct connection to the second device, and wherein the network address has been assigned to the second device, wherein determining the attributes includes:
 requesting, by the first device, that the second device broadcast packets on the network connection; 
 sniffing for network packets transmitted from the second device using a wireless network interface in the first device; and 
 obtaining the attributes from the sniffed network packets that have the network address of the second device; and 
 
 establishing a wireless connection to the access point from the first device based, at least in part, on the attributes of the network connection between the second device and the access point, wherein the second device is not a peripheral device. 
 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 13 , wherein determining the attributes includes using the wireless network interface in the first device to sniff for network packets transmitted from the second device to obtain the attributes from the sniffed packets. 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 14 , wherein the first device uses a Media Access Control (MAC) address assigned to the second device to determine if a packet sniffed from the wireless network interface is from the second device. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 15 ,
 wherein determining if a packet is from the second device includes determining whether a source address in a MAC header of the packet matches the MAC address assigned to the second device, 
 wherein determining the attributes includes retrieving the attributes from the MAC header of the packet, and 
 wherein the attributes include at least a Broadcast Service Set Identifier (BSSID) for the access point that is retrieved from the MAC header. 
 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 13 , wherein the direct connection to the second device is a universal serial bus (USB) connection. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 13 , wherein establishing the wireless connection includes establishing a secure wireless connection by:
 determining, in the first device, a security code for securely connecting to the access point by sending a request to initiate secure communication to the access point and receiving a reply from the access point in response to the request; and 
 establishing the secure wireless connection to the access point by automatically initiating a Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) using the security code.